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Rochester no longer has a bike-share program, as its provider, Pace, informed the city last month it is pulling out of the city permanently.

Pace and its parent company, Zagster, had announced earlier that the start of the season would be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Alex Yudelson, chief of staff to Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, said the program was in fact leaving for good.

Yudelson said the company told the city it is reassessing its business model overall, including as it relates to electronic scooters and bicycles and other emerging wheeled contraptions.

“They made it clear to us that Rochester has great potential to be a shared mobility city," he said. "It is nothing about the city itself; they are just re-evaluating their business decisions."

Company representatives did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Another bike-share possible

Yudelson expressed confidence the city will be able to secure another bike-share partner before long, possibly this summer.

Other operators have reached out to the city before but were turned away because Rochester's deal with Pace was exclusive, he said. That contract had one season remaining on it.

The decision seems at odds with Pace's declaration last March that Rochester was a "shining star," with more registered riders than in any other city where the company operates.

The Pace bike share program is leaving Rochester after three years.(Photo: Scott Norris / Democrat and Chronicle)

At that time there were 16,900 riders who in 2018 took 54,000 trips, more than double the usage in 2017. According to Yudelson, July 2019 saw the heaviest usage ever in any of the company's cities across the country.

"It was hugely popular, so we are disappointed they had to make this decision," he said.

Bike sharing in Rochester hit a patch of gravel in 2018, when thieves stole more than 200 of them. The problem seemingly was resolved in 2019, though empty bike racks still sometimes frustrated riders.

Zagster also agreed with City Council last May to begin renting out electric scooters as well if they were to become legal in New York, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed legislation to that effect.

Yudelson, who is challenging Democrat Harry Bronson for a seat in the state Assembly, said he expects scooters will eventually be legalized and will become part of the equation for a bike-sharing program.

Jesse Peers, cycling program coordinator at the nonprofit Reconnect Rochester, said he hoped the city could have a new bike share program in place within a few months.

"We understand that Pace is in a difficult position, like everyone is," he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. "But it's very disappointing because cycling is so well suited to this time. ... There's no shortage of bike share companies across the U.S., and I'm sure one of them will be glad to come to Rochester."